MARXIST

criticism
Marxist Criticism refers to a method you'll
encounter in literary and cultural analysis.
It breaks down texts and societal
structures using foundational concepts
like class, alienation, base, and
superstructure.
WHAT IS MARXIST
CRITICISM?
Marxist Criticism refers to both
an interpretive framework
a genre of discourse.
Marxist Criticism as both a theoretical approach and a
conversational genre within academic discourse. Critics
using this framework analyze literature and other cultural
forms through the lensof Marxist theory, which includes an
exploration of how economic and social structures influence
ideology and culture.
WHY DOES
MARXIST CRITICISM
MATTER?
Marxist criticism thus emphasizes
class, socioeconomic status, power
relations among various segments of
society, and the representation of
those segments. Marxist literary
criticism is valuable because it
enables readers to see the role that
class plays in the plot of a text.
 WHAT ARE THE FOUR PRIMARY
PERSPECTIVES OF MARXISM?

01 02 03 04
Class Alienation Base Superstructure
EXAMPLE OF A
MARXIST CRITICISM
Marxist reading of a novel might
explore how the narrative
reinforces or challenges the
existing social hierarchy and
economic inequalities.
DID KARL MARX
CREATE MARXIST
CRITICISM?
Karl Marx himself did not create Marxist criticism as a literary or
cultural methodology. He was a philosopher, economist, and
sociologist, and his works laid the foundation for Marxist theory
in the context of social and economic analysis. The key
concepts that Marx developed—such as class struggle, the
theory of surplus value, and historical materialism—are central
to understanding the mechanisms of capitalism and class
relations. Marxist criticism as a distinct approach to literature
and culture developed later, as thinkers in the 20th century
began to apply Marx’s ideas to the arts and humanities. It is a
product of various scholars and theorists who found Marx’s
social theories to be useful tools for analyzing and critiquing
literature and culture. So, while Marx provided the ideological
framework, it was later theorists who adapted his ideas into
what is now known as Marxist criticism.
THANKYOU
very much